I heart her message before I drop my phone back into my pocket.
“Sorry about that.”
Yak shakes his head. “Nothing to be sorry about. When family needs you, you answer.”
“Spoken like an older sibling.”
Yak smirks. “I’m actually the youngest. I have two older sisters.”
“I’m not going to lie, man. I didn’t see that coming.”
“Most don’t.” He laughs.
I am envious of him. “Are you close to your family?”
“As close as a guy can be when he lives in the gray and his sister is a district attorney,” he says, making me wince.
“Shit, that’s worse than being related to a cop.”
“Tell me about it. The only good thing is that she works in Chicago. She’s far enough away that I don’t have to worry about shit,” he says, making me laugh.
“I guess that’s one way to look at it. Your other sister, what does she do?”
He smiles widely. “She’s a stay-at-home mom, which is fucking perfect for her. She married her high school sweetheart and seems to be sickeningly in love with him, even though I think he’s a fucking douche.”
“Can’t help who you fall in love with,” I tell him.
“No, you can’t. Now, enough about that shit. Have you noticed the tension between Rain and Ridge?” he asks, gossiping like a schoolgirl.
“I think everyone and their mother has noticed,” I deadpan.
He nods. “I’m starting a betting pool on how long until they hook up. You want in?”
I want to say no, but he’s including me in this. It feels good. Besides, it’s a foregone conclusion that something will happen with Rain and Ridge eventually.
I nod. “Yeah, man, count me in.”
As he rattles on about random shit. I can’t help but shake my head. I don’t know how this became my life. I’ve never had this sort of brotherhood. Never just gossiped like teenage girls about my friends just because I can.
I fucking love it.
Aspen might think she fucked up my life when we met, but what she really did was show me what I was missing, and for that alone, I’ll always be thankful.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
ASPEN
Being with Asher is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. It’s been a month now since I got my head out of my ass and started healing. As much as it has been killing me, Asher and I have been taking it slow.
Part of me wants to speed it up, but the other part is grateful for this time. Instead of jumping into sex like I normally do with men, we are enjoying being together in a more intimate way.
We flirt. We talk. We hold hands.
It is all very high school, but I feel like it is helping us grow closer.
I was worried about our connection being superficial due to the traumatic experience that bonded us, but we are replacing it with a stronger bond. One that can stand the test of time.
